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Hidden Target

By Tina Ann Middleton

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She had killed a man.
Rachel stared in disbelief at the limp body at her feet, her eyes wide with fear. She tried to check for a pulse in his neck, but her hands were shaking so hard she couldn't even turn the body over.
No one would believe it was self-defense. She was a domestic worker employed at the home of a wealthy man. the dead man was her employer's nephew, and probably his heir, since her employer had no children. Who would believe that she was trying to keep her victim from raping her?
Rachel tried to make herself move as she realized that she needed to get out of there before someone came looking for her or for the man whose life she had just taken. Her body felt leaden, however. She couldn't stop looking at the body on the floor. Finally, Rachel wrenched herself away from the scene.
She began throwing her belongings into a battered suitcase. As she tossed her clothes and toiletries into the suitcase, she didn't notice the small velvet pouch peeking out of a side pocket. Packing didn't take long since she lived simply, with few earthly goods.
Rachel allowed herself a moment's gratitude that she had been paid that day and had withheld some cash when she deposited her check while running errands. She hoped she could make a quick stop at an ATM to get more cash. Once she left the Austin area she would not use her ATM card again.
She forced herself to stop and take a few breaths so that she could remember what else she would need to take with her.
Groceries! Grabbing a plastic grocery bag, Rachel filled it with items that could be used for quick meals; things like peanut butter, crackers, fruit, cereal. She snatched up a cooler and dumped all the ice from her small freezer into it. Then she settled her eggs, milk, and a few other perishables in the ice.
Rachel gathered a couple of saucepans and her cast iron skillet, as well as plastic plates and a few utensils.
She had to stop several times to catch her breath from the sobs that shook her body as she worked. Everything and everyone that mattered to her were gone. Her father was dead. Her job was gone. Her reputation destroyed. Because she would be on the run, she could not stop to visit the one person she had left in this world.
Rachel carried her bags out to her small sedan, then hurried back into the cottage to check for anything she might have missed. Shudders shook her frame when she spotted the body slumped on her living room floor.
Tears ran down her cheeks as she gazed away from the scene to the cozy space that had been her home for several years.
Why had this happened to her?

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